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Skullfang Tribe
The Skullfang Tribe is a tribe of Jungle Trolls that occupy the Chakari Valley. Originally one of three Tribes that split off from the Gurubashi to occupy the valley, a war of aggression took place with the Skullfang Tribe hailing supreme, absorbing the Batslammer and Bonesmasher Tribes. They are allies to the Darkspears and thus the Horde. They have committed military aid to various Horde campaigns and especially Vol'jin's campaign against the Zandalari, but tend to be isolationist. They are currently led by Zul'kaz'jin. The heir apparent is Jen'doo. =History= Ancient History Gurubashi Civil War As the Gurubashi became more and more entranced Hakkar the Soulflayer, the more and more that the non-worshippers of Hakkar became disenfranchised with the Gurubashi. Eventually a civil war that tore the Gurubashi apart to defeat the followers of Hakkar began. When the various Tribes won and split, three tribes -- the Skullfang, Batslammer, and Bonesmasher Tribes -- left Zul'Gurub behind and were led to a valley by Chakari the Pariah. The Triple Alliance The three tribes settled in the valley and were at first determined to coexist with each other peacefully. They were wary from the civil war, thus had no bloodlust with each other. Chakari the Pariah settled in the very middle of the valley. It was there that the three chiefs of the Tribes met and created the Triple Alliance. After several weeks of talks, borders were eventually drawn to the needs of each Tribe: *The Skullfang Tribe, being the most numerous and easily the most powerful, gained almost half of the valley, occupying the northern half and establishing Tari'watha. *The Batslammer Tribe occupied the southwestern part of the valley, establishing Parit'wartha within cave system and befriend the large bats that lived there. *The Bonesmasher Tribe, being the least numerous, occupied the souther eastern part of the valley, establishing Mach'watha. Chakari eventually passed and ascended to be a Loa that was revered by all three Tribes. He is seen as the chief of all Loa that are worshipped in the Valley. His shrine is directly in the middle of the valley and is tended by Atal'Chakari, a group of Witch Doctors indepedent of the three tribes. Each year a festival is held to honor Chakari at the Shrine. The three Tribes lived in relative peace with each other. They banded together against other threats such as the Bloodscalps, Skullsplitter, and Gurubashi, but generally kept themselves isolated from the wars of other races. The Sundering of the world shook the Chakari valley hard, but it did not decimate the valley. The various villages were destroyed and a few tunnels collapsed at Parit'watha, but the villages were rebuilt in weeks afterward. Subjugation of the Valley and the Orcish Invasion of Azeroth After many generations, things began to change in the valley. The chief of the Skullfang Tribe, Valakka'jin, grew ambitious and wishes to control the entire valley. He felt as though the Chakari Valley was spiritually ruled by Chakari, thus it was needed that another, firm ruler take the helm of the Trolls in order to ensure their survival. He incensed his tribe into war and broke the Triple Alliance, beginning what came several years of warfare between the three Tribes. War of Three Spears Valakka'jin first called the other chiefs to the Shrine of Chakari in order to attempt to use diplomacy to unite the other two tribes. Despite his attempt, the two chiefs refused him. He threatened war upon them, deciding to try to strong arm them but instead only caused a rift between the three chiefs as each chief believed themselves superiour to the other. The only subject they were able to agree on was that the Shrine of Chakari was considered sacred ground and thus no blood was to be shed upon it. The first military action of the war was between the Skullfang and the Batslammer. Just outside the Shrine, several warbands clashed with each other with the victor coming out to be Skullfang's more numerous and tactically superiour forces. Valakka'jin assigned several warbands led by Shadow Hunters to occupy the Bonesmashers while he led a majority of the forces against Parit'watha. It was Valakka'jin's wish to quickly subjugate the Batslammers so that they would not use their famed Batriders against them. Unfortuantely, he was not quick enough and his forces were defeated. The back and forth between the tribes continued for the better part of two years before the Skullfangs subjugated the Batslammers. With the Batslammers subjugated and their chief dead, they unleashed all of their fury upon the Bonesmashers. Within six months, the Bonesmasher's chief was assinated by a group of Shadow Hunters. After a bit of clean up, the Skullfang Tribe stood alone and victorious over the entire Valley, to which Valakka'jin incorperated the culture of the three tribes into the Skullfang. The Orcish Invasion Approximately five hundred years after the Chakari Valley subjugation, the Orcs invaded Azeroth. The Skullfang Tribe did not participate in the war, merely holding its borders but sent several Shadow Hunters to spy on the Orcish Horde. After their successful invasion, the Skullfang Tribe considered sending envoys but halted as their campaign was taken north. The Skullfangs continued to simply watch as the Horde was not only defeated, but pushed back from whence they came. They did send several envoys to the Amani Trolls, but the envoys were murdered. Despite this, the Skullfang Tribe kept close ties with the Revantusk Tribe. Modern Period The Skullfang Tribe continued to watch the other nations of the continent, content with their holdings. It wasn't until after the Battle of Theramore where the New Horde stood triumphant over Admiral Proudmoore that the Skullfangs sent emissaries to the New Horde. The New Horde Diplomatic relations between the Skullfang Tribe and the Horde increased over time and eventually the Chief of the Skullfang, Zul'kaz'jin, joined the Horde proper. The Skullfang committed troops alongside the Horde across the globe. They were often committed alongside Darkspear forces, thus ensuring that the Darkspear and Skullfang Tribe stayed proper allies. Where the Darkspears moved, as did the Skullfangs. The Chakari Valley came under attack several times by the followers of the Gurubashi, but the Skullfangs held their own and threw back the legions of the Gurubashi on every attempt at subjugation. When Zandalari began uniting the Tribes, the Skullfangs did not send an emissary instead conferring to the Darkspear on their actions. When Zul'jin began a campaign against the Zandalari at Zul'aman and Zul'gurub, the Skullfangs mobilized their forces against them. The Shattering The Shattering saw a portion of the Chakari Valley flooded. It destroyed a southern portion and killed many of the Skullfangs. The population is recovering. =Culture= The Three Tribes The Skullfang Tribe is an amalgation of the original three tribes that occupied the Chakari Valley. Thus it is important to identify how each Tribe affected today's Skullfang Tribe. The Skullfang Tribe The Skullfang Tribe got their name by the way their adulthood rites are received. Once a youngblood can hunt on his or her own, he or she is to go out into the wilds of the Valley and bring back the skull of an animal. The most popular of the animals to slay are the tigers, panthers, and raptors that are common to the valley. The youth then must bring the skull to the Witch Doctor or Shadow Hunter and have it shrunk so that they can carry it as a trophy. Some youths instead fashioned the skull into a helmet to be worn in battle. Skullfang warriors are known to carry the skulls of their enemies, as well. If an enemy or rival was of particular note or importance to the warrior, they will shrink the head and carry it to honor such an enemy. Lastly, the Skullfangs are noted for their use of mounted troops upon raptors. It was through these raptor-riders that they defeated the Bonesmasher Tribe on multiple occasions during the War of Three Spears. The loas that were worshipped by the Skullfang Tribe were the Raptor, Panther, and Tiger -- Tapp'ter, Or'manley, and Zus'obeah respectively. The Bonesmasher Tribe The Bonesmasher Tribe was the smallest of the three tribes that once occupied the Chakari Valley. They prided themselves as a warrior culture, thus revered fearlessness and ferocity. In particular, many of their warriors became beserkers, who worked themselves into a blood rage and charged the lines as shock troops wielding two handed weapons hoping to break the morale of an army in a single bloody charge. The adulthood rite was to drink the mixed blood of raptors and tigers. They worshipped a single loa outside of Chakari and that was Tul'rak, the loa of war. The Batslammer Tribe The Batslammer Tribe was the second largest of the three tribes that once occupied the Chakari Valley. When they settled in the valley, they decided to take a network of caves as their home. These caves held colonies of large bats to which the batslammers tamed. Typically when a Batslammer youth is born, he is given a bat to tend to and raise with the expectation that he will ride said bat. Not all Batslammers were bat riders, but they were famed for it. They worshipped the bat loa, Rok'zar The three cultures were absorbed into one, with each Watha continuing own its legacy. Religion Chakari Once known as Chakari the Pariah, he led the three tribes to the valley and made a shrine in the middle of the valley. It was there that he lived and died. His spirit ascended into loa-hood and was worshipped by the three tribes. He is considered the most important Loa of the tribe and chief of the Chakari Valley loas. A festival is held in his honor each year. Tapp'ler Tapp'ler is the loa of raptors. He was originally worshipped solely by the Skullfang until the subjugation of the three tribes. His shrine is at Tari'watha and is commonly worshipped by the raptor riders. Or'manley Or'manley is the loa of panthers. He was originally worshipped by the Skullfang until the subjugation of the three tribes. Of all the loa of the Chakari Valley, he is the one that is least worshipped and has no shrine. Zus'obeah Zus'obeah is the loa of tigers. He was worshipped by the Skullfang and Bonesmasher originally until the subjugation of the three tribes. His shrine is near Mach'watha. Tul'rak Tul'rak is the loa of war. He was originally worshipped by the Bonesmasher until the subjugation of the three tribes. His shrine is located at Mach'watha and is commonly worshipped by the warriors of the tribe. Rok'zar Rok'zar is the loa of bats. He was originally worshipped by the Batslammer Tribe until the subjugation of the three tribes. His shrine is located at Parit'watha and is commonly worshipped by the batriders. Shadow Hunter Loas Shadow Hunter Loas are typically worshipped solely by the Shadow Hunters. See the Shadow Hunter wowpedia page for more information. Important Titles Chief An obvious place of power, the Chief of the Skullfang takes the suffix 'jin' at the end of their name. They are considered the absolute ruler of the tribe, where their word is law. The Chief usually trains as a Witcher Doctor or Shadow Hunter, though Chiefs outside of the two have existed in the past. A chief typically relies on one or several warmasters in the case of war. Warmaster The title of Warmaster is typically given to a warrior of tactical and strategical mind that leads several warbands in a time of war. It also refers to the leader of the Tribe's Shadow Hunters. Witch Doctors Witch Doctors are the spiritual leaders of the tribe. They usually specialize in a certain loa of their choosing and apprentice at the shrines. Scalper A Scalper is a specially trained raptor rider and is considered the best of the best of the raptors riders. Usually leading a warband of cavalry, they are trained to handle a spear, sword, and bow. A Scalper is selected based on bravery, gallantry, and is given the prefex Jor to add to their name. In addition, the scalper aspirant is to take the scalps of ten enemies of the tribe and present them to a'' fully fledged scalper and then they can begin their rites to become a scalper. Berserker The Beserker is a specially trained soldier of the Tribe. They are shock troops, meant to break the enemy's morale by charging into their lines by screaming curses and wielding wicked two-handed weapons. The path of the berserker is to know bloodlust, to use the rage and need to shed blood to guide their weapons. They drink a mixture of raptor and tiger's blood upon completion of their training. Due to the volatile nature of the berserker, their life spans are short but filled with glory. A full-fledged berserker takes ''ko as either a prefix or a suffix. Skyterror The Skyterror are the specially trained bat riders of the Tribe. For many years they have spent with their bat companion, practicing the tight maneuvers needed in order to become a full wind warrior. They are skilled with explosives, a chosen air weapon, and even a spear in order to give themselves air superiority. The use a special bomb that when it breaks spreads fire among a small blast radius, making them excellent for bombing runs. Requiring several years of training, a full-fledged skyterror takes the prefix Ja as part of their name. Atal'Chakari The Atal'Chakari are truly considered the spiritual leaders of the Skullfang Tribe. There are only ten members of the sect selected at any given time and they represent almost all spiritual matters concerning the loa that the Skullfang Tribe worships. They typically train other Witch Doctors in order to perform their duties to the loa, but they mainly stay the Chakari Shrine and tend to its upkeep along with host the Chakari Festival each year. The Atal'Chakari are led by the Elder Witch. Elder Witch The Elder Witch is the left hand of the Tribe's chief and the spiritual leader of the Tribe. He or she leads the Atal'Chakari. Shadow Hunters “In war, the way is to avoid what is strong, and strike at what is weak.” ''1 The Shadow Hunters occupy an important position in Skullfang society. Shadow Hunters were apart of each Tribe's society before the War of Three Spears, but the Skullfangs put more of an emphasis upon them. They are considered the military elite, with only a very small fraction of the military forces becoming Shadow Hunters. Years of intense training are needed in order to become a Shadow Hunter and aspirants are usually chosen very young. The Skullfang Shadow Hunter is trained dually martial and mystical aspect. A trained Shadow Hunter is a force of its own, wielding abilities to control and deal massive damage to the enemy. They have the shadows under their command as they are typically fighting against the enemies of the tribe while the Tribe isn't directly at war. They are almost like a cult within Skullfang society as they worship Loas outside of normal Skullfang society. They still honor chosen loa, but tend to favor their Shadow Hunter loas over the Skullfang's loa. They receive special black raptors that become their companons as well as training with bat riding. They are usually the leaders of warbands, with their most skilled becoming the defenders of the chief. Selection The selection begins when the youth is a mere few years old. Only one in every twenty children ever gets selected and it is based purely off of the Elder Witch's approval. The Elder Witch will do a series of rituals in order to determine if the child is eligible. These rituals are not foul proof, however. There have multiple occasions where an eligible child has failed the beginning stages of becoming a Shadow Hunter, thus never becomes one. There are also multiple occasions where a child who was previously ineligible becomes eligible via their adulthood rite. Thus selection is largely taken with a grain of salt. First Stage: Education The first stage an eligible youth must complete is education. The youth must receive an education in the Skullfang's history, mysticism, beastiary, martial arts, alchemy, poison-making, tactics, strategy, mathematics and logic. This education is standard amongst Receiving an education is standard amongst all of the tribe, but the potential child will typically receive a better education due to their eligibility. Second Stage: Adulthood The second stage an eligible youth must complete is their adulthood rite. This is standard practice for every youth, but the eligible candidate is given a particular amount of attention for his or her kill. A certain standard is set for the eligible child to meet and if they do not, then they are not allowed to proceed to the third rite and they are put in amongst their peers. However due to the education, many failures at this stage go on to become the elite of their chosen branch of the military. Third Stage: First Headhunt ''“He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.” 1 At this stage they are given to several experienced headhunters or Shadow Hunters in order to hunt down a enemy of the tribe and claim their head. Usually done in group of five to six, the experienced headhunters teach the inexperienced headhunters the ways of using the jungles for cover, tracking, and patience as they seek out and kill their target. Planning is a large part of any headhunt, thus this is an important step in the journey to become a Shadow Hunter. Depending on how they succeeded in the headhunt (whether or not they followed the orders of the senior headhunters or decided to brash action) they proceed to the fourth stage or they put back into the ranks of the normal soldier. Fourth Stage: Further Education and Headhunts “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” 1 At this stage the potential candidate has soldified his position as a headhunter. He/she is put back into training to learn the secrets of the Shadow Hunters such as spellcraft, the loa they pray to, more dangerous martial arts and alchemy. They continue going on several headhunts per year until they themselves are confident in leading small warbands into enemy territory to carry the headhunts out themselves. This stage can approximately take three to five years to fully complete. Fifth Stage: Shadow Hunter Those who make it past the fourth stage eventually stagnate within their training. It is at this point where they become fully-fledged Shadow Hunters. At a random night, they are taken from their beds from other fully-fledged Shadow Hunters and taken into the jungle to a secret shrine where they drink the 'Blood of Chakari'. No one beyond the Elder Witch and the Atal'Chakari know what this drink contains, but the drink enhances the abilities of the potential Shadow Hunter almost tenfold. After this ceremony, they are welcomed as full siblings to the Shadow Hunters and take a solemn oath never betray the trust of their fellow Shadow Hunters, for theirs is a sacred brotherhood. If the vow is broken, then they are mercilessly hunted down and killed. Rituals Adulthood Rites WIP Shadow Hunter Rites WIP Scalper Rites WIP Berserker Rites WIP Bat Rider Rites WIP Chakari Festival WIP Allies WIP Military Forces The Tribe's military forces are divided into several sections called Warbands. Warbands can be as small as ten soldiers and as large as one hundred. They are usually led by champions of the Tribe who have proven themselves able to lead a group of soldiers. InfantryCategory:TrollCategory:Troll TribesCategory:Troll OrganizationsCategory:New Horde Two types of front-line infantry exist within the Tribe: Spearhides - A troop of infantry that primarily wield spears and have a longer range. Good against cavalry. Warswords - A troop of infantry that wields swords, shields, and heavy armor. Good against other infantry and can typically soak damage. Ranged Infantry There are two types of ranged infantry: Bowmasters - A standard troop of ranged infantry that wields bows. Strong when used at a long range, they are weak in melee. Crossbowmen - A less common troop of infantry that wields crossbows. They are strong at midrange but take twice as long as an archer to reload their weapons. Cavalry There are three types of cavalry that exist within the tribe: Spearhandlers - A troop of cavalry that wield spears. They have a longer range and are usually considered light cavalry. Rides raptors. Swordhandlers - A troop of cavalry that wield swords. They have a shorter range but are considering heavy cavalry and are often used as shock-and-awe. Rides raptors. Archerhandlers - A troop of cavalry that wields bows. They are fast and lightly armored and excel at hit-and-run tactics. Flying Cavalry Only one type of flying cavalry exists: Batriders - A versatile troop of flying cavalry. Typically wields bombs that deal an area-of-effect blast. Also have bows and spears to wield against the enemy. Very uncommon. Special Forces Beserkers - A shock-and-awe type of infantry.They are fast and wield wicked two-handed weapons but wear very little armor. Scalpers - A powerful troop of cavalry that are heavily armor and are considered the best cavalry amongst the Tribe. Skyterrors - The elite of the flying cavalry. They are fast and wield more powerful alchemical concoctions Shadow Hunters - The military elite of the Tribe. Wielding bows and swords, they are a powerful and versatile infantry that can also ride raptors into battle. It is rare to see them in open combat, preferring to stay to their own warbands and fight in the shadows. Foreign Forces Since joining the Horde, the Skullfang Tribe has treated with other Horde races and formed alliances of their own. They have access to the following, but are not typically called into action unless a serious war threatens the Chakari Valley: Bloodhoof Braves - Powerful front-line infantry that soak up damage. Orc Shaman - A magical infantry that mostly heal other troops. Darkspear Headhunter - Jungle Trolls that wield spears that can be thrown or used in a melee Goblin Grenadiers - Bomb wielding Goblins that deal throw bombs at the enemy. References 1 The Art of War, Sun Tzu Category:Skullfang Tribe